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Improvised table tennis game in southern Nigeria
Photo: YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP
According to the World Bank, poorer countries hardly benefit from the economic recovery from the Corona crisis.
The upswing was "dramatically unequal," warned World Bank President David Malpass at the beginning of the joint annual meeting of the organization with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Because the poorer countries lack vaccines and the financial leeway to support the economy, inequality between groups of countries is growing.
"Per capita income in industrialized countries is expected to grow by almost 5 percent in 2021, but only 0.5 percent in poor countries," said Malpass.
For many developing countries, it will take years before income levels return to pre-pandemic levels.
The pandemic led to a "tragic reversal" of the trend for developing countries and the reduction of poverty.
According to the World Bank, poor countries' indebtedness rose 12 percent in 2020 to $ 860 billion.
The debt slows down the development of many poorer countries and must be brought to a sustainable level, said Malpass.
"We need a comprehensive approach to the debt problem, including debt reductions, faster restructuring and improved transparency."
Finance ministers, central bankers and representatives from the financial sector and development cooperation come together for the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank.
The conference, which will last until Sunday, will take place in a hybrid format, i.e. partly in Washington and partly online.
The German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann and the head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, also want to take part in some deliberations.
The meeting is overshadowed by a scandal that calls into question the position of IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva.
The 68-year-old is accused of influencing an important country ranking in favor of China on her previous top post at the World Bank.
Georgieva rejects this.
ssu / dpa